Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya
"I'm now ready. And even if Shadow kills me, I'll be with you Asuna" -Kirito Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya is the protagonist of the series known as Sword Art Online, created by Reki Kawahara. Kirito plays a major roll in the Saga and is one of the core characters, alongside Zeref Dragneel, Kiriton Dragneel, Anakin Skywalker, and many others. Prologue Kirito was one of 10,000 players who were trapped in Sword Art Online. Being a Beta Tester, he quickly rose above the other players eventually becoming the second strongest player in the game behind Heathcliff. Rather than joining a guild, Kirito remained a solo player. Despite this, he made many friends including Klein, Agiel, Silica, Lizbeth, and Asuna, who later became his lover and wife.Eventually, Kirito cleared the death game and freed everyone after a final duel with Heatchliff. The saga takes place aound 3 years after this event, and the ones that followed including Fairy Dance, Phantom Bullet, Caliber, and Mother's Rosario. Early Story Kirito was the first character of the Sword Art Online universe to set foot in Meta Earth. At first, he was confused at all the new people and things that were emerging and appearing all over this new location. Another thing that vexed him was the fact that he was able to use the same skills and items as his avatar in Sword Art Online. Armed with his sword, Elucidator, he spent about a week familiarizing himself with the land and the creatures that would prove to be a threat even to him. It didn't take long for him to gain a reputation among citizens of the main city, Cipher Falls. They described him to members of the Alvarez Empire as "A lone swordsman dressed in black" and "A young man armed with a blade". Eventually, his notoriety caught the attention of Zeref Dragneel himself, who then sent Kylo Ren to dispatch him. Duel With Kylo Ren receiving the news that he was being hunted by a high up member of the Alvarez Empire, Kirito traveled into the heart of Cipher Falls to show that he was not afraid of the Empire and that he would not be apprehended so easily. In response to this, Kylo Ren called his arriving troops off to deal with Kirito himself. In the midst of the fight, Kylo Ren offers Kirito a job at the Alvarez Empire. Kirito considers his offer, but continues the fight. During the remainder of the duel, Kylo gives him reasons why joining the Empire would benefit a lone warrior like him. Kirito responds by saying "I might be on my own here, but I'm never truly alone". Kylo asks him what he means by this, but Kirito never answers. By the fights end, Kirito has Kylo on his back beaten. However, Kirito states that he will willingly join the Alvarez Empire if it insures safety for his comrades who have yet to arrive on Meta Earth. During his first few missions with the Empire, he found friends in Yatarou The Little Human, Darren Shan, Demon Slayer, and Kazuto Kirigaya who was a Neko version of himself from an alternate reality. Cipher Court Of Law Not long after joining the Alvarez Empire, Kirito is approached by Luke Skywalker, who asks him to work as his spy from within the Alvarez Empire. Kirito refuses at first, stating that he has protection for those he cares about because of them. Luke then challenges this, asking Kirito what his assurance of this is. Kirito admits that he wasn't too sure, but he had no reason to not be loyal. In the month that had passed, Zeref had become a good friend to Kirito and he would honor and serve his friend. Luke accepts this, but tells Kirito to contact him if he should change his mind. Later, he witnesses the true intentions of the Alvarez Empire. It's leader, Zeref, was in direct contact with Bill Cipher, whom treated Cipher Falls like his personal playground. Kirito then realized that this is the very same thing that Akihiko Kayaba was doing in Sword Art Online and decided he would no longer participate in such acts. Upon reconnecting with Luke, his job was then to spy and gather information that would be instrumental in overthrowing the Alvarez Empire. Kirito worked well in his newfound roll, never letting on to what he truly was to anyone. This lead Kirito to become sloppy and he was soon discovered talking to Luke. Bill Cipher himself had Kirito captured after a long fight with the soldiers of Alvarez. It was then that the first Cipher Court was engaged. The council was assembled consisting of Arceus, Bill Cipher, Time Baby, Darren Shan, Kylo Ren, and Tad Strange. They captured Kirito's wife and daughter, Asuna and Yui, who would be executed along with Kirito if he failed the trial. With his friends defending him, Kirito plead his case the best he could. Unfortunately for him, he was only able to tell the complete truth. Even with Darren vouching for him on the council, none was enough. Just as Kirito was sentenced to death, Zeref sprung from his seat to do battle with the other gods. As Kirito and friends escaped with his family, he questioned Zeref on why he was helping them. Zeref replied by saying because they were friends, and that Kirito and Asuna reminded him of himself and Mavis Vermillion. Fugitive A short while after Kirito's escape, he, Asuna, and Yui moved into a cabin just like the one they in Sword Art Online. Never far behind were Yatarou, Demon Slayer, or Kazuto who had left the Alvarez Empire after the court. The original group was back together with the exception of Darren Shan, who still belonged to the Empire. Little did they know, Darren would never be seen by them again. -To be continued-